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Health Inc. : Shots - Health News As spending on care rises, the business of health keeps getting more important. We feature news on and analysis of drugmakers, health insurers, hospitals, doctors and others in the business of providing health care.
Shots - Health News

Shots

Health News From NPR

Health Inc.

Wednesday

Doctors At Southern Hospitals Take The Most Payments From Drug, Device Companies
Hannah Birch and David Sleight/Propublica

Health Inc.

Doctors At Southern Hospitals Take The Most Payments From Drug, Device Companies

ProPublica

A hospital's location and whether it is for-profit make a big difference in the share of its doctors taking industry payments like meals, travel and speaking fees. Check out the ProPublica analysis.

Doctors At Southern Hospitals Take The Most Payments From Drug, Device Companies

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Friday

Tuesday

Even A Small Meal For A Doctor Can Tip The Balance For A Brand-Name Drug

A single modest meal for a doctor was associated with a higher likelihood he or she would prescribe Crestor, a cholesterol drug, instead of a generic. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Health Inc.

Even A Small Meal For A Doctor Can Tip The Balance For A Brand-Name Drug

ProPublica

Researchers say the time doctors spend with drug company representatives when they are dropping off meals is probably more important than the food in influencing prescription choices.

Wednesday

Despite Overdose Epidemic, Georgia Caps The Number Of Opioid Treatment Clinics

Methadone and similar drugs are legal synthetic opioids that are used to help block the cravings and withdrawal symptoms of people trying to wean themselves off prescription painkillers or heroin. Michell Eloy/WABE hide caption

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Michell Eloy/WABE

Health Inc.

Despite Overdose Epidemic, Georgia Caps The Number Of Opioid Treatment Clinics

WABE

Georgia has stopped licensing new clinics that provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Some call the state's move irresponsible. Others say the clinics aren't regulated enough.

Despite Overdose Epidemic, Georgia Caps The Number Of Opioid Treatment Clinics

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Friday

Investors See Big Opportunities In Opioid Addiction Treatment
Jonathan McHugh/Ikon Images/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Investors See Big Opportunities In Opioid Addiction Treatment

Opioid addiction treatment is a growth market, and private equity firms are buying up treatment centers and chains. But it's too soon to say how this might affect access to care and quality.

Investors See Big Opportunities In Opioid Addiction Treatment

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Friday

Is Virginia Health Insurer's Decision To Drop Bronze Plans An Omen?

A subsidiary of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Virginia won't offer an insurance plan on the lowest tier of the marketplace next year. Morgan McCloy/NPR hide caption

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Morgan McCloy/NPR

Health Inc.

Is Virginia Health Insurer's Decision To Drop Bronze Plans An Omen?

KFF Health News

Bronze plans provide the least generous coverage of the four tiers on insurance marketplaces, paying 60 percent of benefits, on average, compared with 70 percent for the more popular silver plans.

Wednesday

Autism Can Be An Asset In The Workplace, Employers And Workers Find

Gerald Franklin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child, is now lead developer for a website that matches workers with prospective employers. Job-related videos, he says, can help people with special needs showcase their talent. Courtesy of Gerald Franklin hide caption

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Courtesy of Gerald Franklin

Health Inc.

Autism Can Be An Asset In The Workplace, Employers And Workers Find

Roughly 40 percent of young adults with autism spectrum disorder aren't finding jobs. But some employers are now recruiting adults on the spectrum as an untapped talent pool of focused workers.

Autism Can Be An Asset In The Workplace, Employers And Workers Find

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Thursday

Monday

GAO Audit: Feds Failed To Rein In Medicare Advantage Overbilling

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has spent about $117 million on Medicare Advantage audits that have recouped just $14 million related to overcharging. Jay Mallin/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Jay Mallin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Health Inc.

GAO Audit: Feds Failed To Rein In Medicare Advantage Overbilling

The Center for Public Integrity

Privately run Medicare Advantage plans have overcharged the federal government by billions of dollars, yet Medicare hasn't been effective in recouping the excessive payments, an audit found.

Sunday

Professional 'Guinea Pigs' Can Make A Living Testing Drugs

Putting experimental drugs to the test can be a way of life. Glow Wellness/Glow RM/Getty Images hide caption

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Glow Wellness/Glow RM/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Professional 'Guinea Pigs' Can Make A Living Testing Drugs

One man died and five others were injured in a clinical trial in France this year. Trials like those depend on healthy people willing to take experimental medications in return for cash.

Professional 'Guinea Pigs' Can Make A Living Testing Drugs

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Tuesday

Botched French Drug Trial Followed Rules But Lacked 'Common Sense'

Stephane Schubhan, one of six men hospitalized after the clinical trial, still suffers from neurological damage. Jean-Francois Monier/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jean-Francois Monier/AFP/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Botched French Drug Trial Followed Rules But Lacked 'Common Sense'

In January, one man died and four others sustained brain injuries in the early clinical test of an experimental pain drug. Independent scientists reviewed the study to learn what went wrong.

Wednesday

That Surgery Might Cost You A Lot Less In Another Town
Alyson Hurt/NPR

Health Inc.

That Surgery Might Cost You A Lot Less In Another Town

You may be paying $38,000 more for that knee replacement than someone in another state, or even a few hundred miles down the road. And there doesn't seem to be any method to this madness.

That Surgery Might Cost You A Lot Less In Another Town

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Wednesday

Some Firms Save Money By Offering Employees Free Surgery

Employees at all Lowe's home improvement stores, including this one in South San Francisco, Calif., are eligible to have certain surgeries paid for by the company at selected hospitals. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Some Firms Save Money By Offering Employees Free Surgery

WFAE

The idea is this: Negotiate a flat price with a few hospitals to cover surgery, physical therapy and certain other treatments. Companies save money and hospitals gain patients.

Some Firms Save Money By Offering Employees Free Surgery

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Tuesday

UnitedHealth To Leave Most Obamacare Exchanges In 2017

UnitedHealth Group, based in Minnetonka, Minn., says it expects to lose $650 million on health exchange plans this year. Many people who bought the plans are in relatively poor health, the company says. Mike Bradley/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Bradley/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Health Inc.

UnitedHealth To Leave Most Obamacare Exchanges In 2017

Blaming a lack of profitability, UnitedHealth says it will drop out of most health marketplaces insurance exchanges next year. The insurer's first quarter profits in 2016 were $1.6 billion.